“What’s Coming, Whether We Like it or Not”

Regents Professor and Glenn L. Martin Institute Professor of Engineering and former President, University of Maryland

Predicting the future is usually unreliable. However, simply recognizing the direction to the future when it is little changing is often useful for planning purposes. Such was the case for university planning during the period 1945-1990. However, when the direction to the future changes, as it did during the 1990s, guidance is bound by the new, 21st century direction whatever it may be. This presentation addresses these directions and provides observations for using the 21st century direction in university planning today. Planning for the current direction and stepping away from planning for the former one that no longer exists are surprisingly difficult, but necessary considerations.

Biography

President, University of Maryland and Glenn L. Martin Institute Professor of Engineering, September 1998 to August 31, 2010.

Dr. Mote is a leader in the national dialogue on higher education and his analyses of shifting funding models have been featured in local and national media. He has testified on major educational issues before Congress, representing the University and higher education associations on the problem of visa barriers for international students and scholars and on deemed export control issues. He has been asked to serve on a high level National Academies Committee appointed at the request of the Senate Energy Subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to identify challenges to United States leadership in key areas of science and technology and to be a member of the Leadership Council of the National Innovation Initiative, an activity of the Council on Competitiveness. He has served as vice chair of the Department of Defense Basic Research Committee, and is a member of the Council of the National Academy of Engineering. In 2004-2005, he served as President of the Atlantic Coast Conference. In its last ranking in 2002, "Washington Business Forward" magazine counted him among the top 20 most influential leaders in the region.

Background

Prior to assuming the Presidency at Maryland, Dr. Mote served on the University of California, Berkeley faculty for 31 years. From 1991 to 1998, he was Vice Chancellor at Berkeley, held an endowed chair in Mechanical Systems and was President of the UC Berkeley Foundation. He led a comprehensive capital campaign for Berkeley that raised $1.4B. He earlier served as chair of Berkeley's Department of Mechanical Engineering and led the department to its number one ranking in the National Research Council review of graduate program effectiveness.

Education

Dr. Mote received the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Publications, Patents, Teaching

He has produced more than 300 publications, holds patents in the U.S., Norway, Finland and Sweden, and h Scientific and Professional Memberships

He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and serves on its Council, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was elected to Honorary Membership in the ASME International, its most distinguished recognition, and is a Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Science, the Acoustical Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Honors and Awards

President Mote has received numerous awards and honors, including the Humboldt Prize awarded by the Federal Republic of Germany. He is the incoming President of the National Academy of Engineering.

Additional awards include:

Founders Award, National Academy of Engineering, in recognition of a comprehensive body of work on the dynamics of moving flexible structures and for leadership in academia (2005)

Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2004)

Elected to U.S. National Academy of Engineering (1988)

Washingtonian Magazine's Washingtonian of the Year (2005)

Named one of the 20 most influential Business Leaders in Washington, DC by Business Forward Magazine (2001 and 2002)